Major softball and baseball organizations have instituted performance restrictions on allowable non-wood bats in order to maintain desired levels of safety and equality. The protocols for performance measurements are the subject of my earlier patent (U.S. Pat. No. 5,672,809) and related ASTM standards. (The first such standard was ASTM Designation F 8190-01 “Standard Test Method for Measuring Softball Bat Performance Factor.”) The equipment used to measure bat performance in order to test for compliance with the standards is very complicated, sensitive, and expensive, and the testing process is very delicate and time-consuming. There are currently only three independent labs that perform compliance tests.
If, during the course of a ball game, a bat is suspected (e.g., because of its on-field performance) of being non-compliant with the relevant standard, there is no quick way for presiding officials to confirm or deny this suspicion. The bat must be confiscated by the officials and sent to a qualified testing laboratory to have its performance level verified. This procedure is unsatisfactory.
There is, therefore, a need for a device to test for compliance on the field.